By JIM BARON

PROVIDENCE — The proposed Blackstone Valley Courthouse will not be built in Lincoln, where residents and town officials argued it was inappropriate and unwelcome.

Instead a new site in Smithfield has been designated for the structure and locals are welcoming it with open arms.
Craig Berke, spokesman for Supreme Court Chief Justice Frank Williams said Thursday that Williams always pointed to complaints about traffic at the Lincoln site as “the one legitimate issue” weighing against building the court on land near the Community College of Rhode Island on Louisquisset Pike.
Berke said a recent traffic study convinced Williams that suggested traffic abatement measures, such as installing traffic islands or turning lanes, “were not going to do the job.” A proposal to move the entrance to the courthouse to Jenkes Hill Road was likewise considered unsuitable, Berke said, because sight lines on the hilly road were not good for traffic that would be turning into the court entrance.
 “I was never happy with the results of the traffic studies in Lincoln,” Chief Justice Williams said in a written statement. “Senate President Montalbano, Representative Petrarca  and I have been discussing the necessity of finding another site. They have been totally committed to taking care of the concerns of the people of Lincoln. I promised the people of Lincoln, the Lincoln town administrator, the Lincoln Town Council — and especially Councilman Keith Macksoud — that we would examine other sites, and we have done that in good faith.”
“This is wonderful news for the people of Lincoln,” Macksoud said in a press release, “I thank Chief Justice Williams for keeping an open mind about where to locate the courthouse, and I thank Senate President Montalbano and Representative Petrarca for hearing the concerns of the people of Lincoln and working with us to find a more suitable location.”
Lincoln Town Council President Jeremiah O’Grady said he is “very pleased to hear there is an agreement on a new site. The Town Council was responsive to the concerns of residents that the site was not workable. I am pleased Sen. Montalbano and Chief Justice Williams took those concerns to heart.”
The proposed Smithfield site is on 13 acres of state-owned land on George Washington Highway (Route 116) between Douglas Pike (Route 7) and Farnum Pike (Route 5/104), not far from Bryant University. It is almost directly across the highway from the Nationwide Tractor Trailer Driving School.
Berke said the courthouse will keep the same design proposed for the Lincoln site, and the court has asked the House Finance Committee for $100,000 in the 2008 supplemental budget for site work and test borings.
Funding to build the project has been delayed for at least one budget year, Berke said, so construction will not begin until the summer of 2009 at least. With a 2-3 year construction period, it is likely the court would not be dispensing justice until at least 2012.
Lincoln Rep. Peter Petrarca, said that “because of the public outcry” by Lincoln residents against the court location, he, Senate President Joseph Montalbano and Lincoln Town Councilman Keith Macksoud asked the chief justice to come to the table and discuss alternatives and he did.
Petrarca said the Town Council as a body was “obstructionist” and “unfortunately never attempted to open a dialogue with the chief. All they did is pass resolutions and point fingers.”
“I listened to my constituents on this issue,” Montalbano told The Times Thursday, “I worked with Frank Williams and Rep. Peter Petrarca and Councilman Macksoud, we convinced Judge Williams to look at alternate sites. We found an alternate site in Smithfield that we know, thanks in part to the efforts of Sen. (John) Tassoni (of Smithfield), people in Smithfield will welcome in the planned location.
“We’re just really pleased that we can still serve the needs of the Blackstone Valley with the courthouse while at the same time addressing the concerns of the Lincoln residents and not putting it on the CCRI Campus.
Montalbano added that he hopes to make the site change official through the supplemental budget proposal, which is scheduled to come before the House Finance Committee later this month.
Part of the concern of the Lincoln officials and citizens is that the Lime Rock location designated for the structure was in a residential neighborhood that already housed CCRI, the Twin River gambling emporium and Davies Technical High School. They worried that criminals coming for arraignment or sentencing would be coming through the neighborhood to go to court and many would be released into the area after their court hearings.
Tassoni noted that the Smithfield site “is nowhere near a residential area, the closest is about a half-mile away. It’s in an industrial area; there are businesses all along Route 116.
“This is a grand slam for the Town of Smithfield,” Tassoni said. “The whole town is on board. It’s a gorgeous building and we are trying to develop that area with water and sewers.”
With several restaurants nearby, the senator said, “the town will see an increase in its 1 percent food tax.”